Total Drama Exploration
by agreenparrot
Summary: Total Drama comes to an unexplored island. The 18 new contestants must travel throughout its many locations all while competing in challenges and surviving the votes.
1. Uncharted Lands

_Author's Note: And here's number three. I did it, I've started three different series. Very sorry for how confusing this must be to jump between them all, but hopefully I'll straighten everything out soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy yet another opening. And please don't hate me :)_

From the sky an island was shown, alone surrounded by water. The island was quite vast and had a variety of different terrains scattered over it. Some parts were thick with green forest, others were completely barren. Mountains stretched up high and were capped with snow. The camera zoomed down and showed Chris McClean standing on the beach.

"Welcome!" he exclaimed. "Behind me is a savage island, never before been explored by man. For this season of Total Drama, our competitors will be tasked with delving into this wild land and surviving it. There are no cabins, there is no Chef, and there are no camps. The 18 teens will have to learn to provide for themselves as they travel from place to place over this summer. But, it'll all be worth it in the end for that one person who survives and receives…one million dollars!"

Birds cawed in the background with excitement.

"We're bringing in a whole new cast of camper—no, explorers!" Chris exclaimed. "That's right, this is…Total…Drama…Exploration! Let's meet our cast, shall we?"

A boat came up to the beach and stopped. A boy stepped off with determination. He had black hair and skin that had clearly spent time in the sun. He wore a brown hat and had a matching vest over an orange shirt.

"Andre, welcome to Total Drama Exploration!" Chris announced.

"That prize is mine," Andre declared as he punched his fists together.

"Good attitude," Chris said. "And here comes our second explorer…"

A girl stepped off of the boat. She had long, chocolate brown hair with bangs that framed her face. She wore a lot of make up on her face and lips. She had on a strapless magenta dress.

"Oh my, where is everyone?" she asked.

"You're only the second to arrive, Mandy," Chris explained.

"Oh…yay, that means the first thing everyone will see is how beautiful I am!" Mandy exclaimed.

"Wow, you wore a dress to the island?" Andre scoffed. "This is why it's a bad idea to bring to women out to the wild like this."

"I'll have you know that I spent two hours deciding on this dress," Mandy declared. "If I'm going to be on TV, I need to look my best."

"Well, you've got a nice ass, I'll give you that," Andre replied.

"Thank you!" Mandy beamed.

"Okay, let's move along," Chris said. "Here comes Byron!"

A tall boy who appeared to be of Asian heritage stepped off the boat. He had black hair and wore a yellow backpack. He had a grey coat over a grey shirt and blue shorts.

"Ready for this expedition to begin!" Byron exclaimed. "Ever says I went camping with my dad as a young boy I've been preparing for a chance like this."

"Ha, don't make me laugh, "Andre scoffed. "A China Boy like you doesn't have the strength to withstand this game. Go back to selling illegal fireworks."

"Well, actually, I'm not Chinese," Byron corrected, "you see, just because I have ancestry in—"

"I see your lips moving but all I hear is 'Ching chang chong,'" Andre scoffed.

"How rude," Byron said. "I hope you know that there's more to this game than strength. And with that attitude you won't be lasting long."

"Why don't you put it in a fortune cookie?" Andre spat.

"I'm done talking to you," Byron said.

"Let's move along," Chris said. "Meet…Siobhan!"

A girl red-brown hair and golden eyes stepped off. She wore a blue sweater and brown pants. She had her attention focused on a game system in her hands.

"Hi, there, I'm Siobhan, but you can call me Sio-bang!" she exclaimed without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Siobhan, watch where you're going," Chris said as she headed for a tree.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me," she said as she twirled around.

"Perhaps you should put the game away," Byron suggested.

"Are you kidding me?" she laughed. "Do you have any idea how long I've been hunting Mesprit? I will get you, you little twerp! Ha, showed him."

"And I'm still the only one with a chance out here," Andre remarked.

"Up next," Chris said, "it's Ricky!"

A boy with messy blond hair and a big forehead stepped off. He had a crimson shirt and blue shorts.

"Hi, there, everyone," he said. "I'm a little nervous about being here…but hopefully I'll be able to learn from the best."

"Stick with me, Ricky," Byron offered. "I'll show you the ropes."

"Don't listen to Panda Express over there," Andre scoffed. "I'm the man you want."

"Oh, well, thank you for the offer Mr…" Ricky said.

"Andre," Andre replied, "but from now on, you can call me 'Boss.'"

Byron rolled his eyes at the nearest person, who happened to be Siobhan.

"I know right," she agreed.

"How did you see that without looking up?" Byron asked.

"I have good peripheral vision," she replied. "No…no you stupid monkey, now is not a good time to run out of MP!"

"And now, let's give it up for," Chris continued, "Collette!"

A girl with blue hair, streaked with red stepped off. She had an indigo beret on and lips that matched her hair. She wore a navy dress with a flower buckle on her belt.

"Mm, yes, yes, very inspiring indeed," she exclaimed as she held her hands out like a photo. "You there, stand to right."

Siobhan obeyed, still without standing out.

"Yes, yes, beautiful," Collette continued.

"That's me," Mandy laughed.

"Mm, no, no, I don't think so," Collette said. "You go to the back."

"What?!" Mandy gasped. "But…I'm beautiful!"

"You do not match my style," Collette replied.

"Well, they'll be plenty of time for you to work on your drawings later, Collette," Chris said. "Right now let's meet…Kane!"

The boat arrived, but no one came off.

"Ha, looks like he realized he didn't stand a chance," Andre laughed.

"Kane, get out here!" Chris said as he marched towards the boat.

"Boo!" a boy wearing a monstrous mask exclaimed as he leapt off the boat.

"Waah!" Chris cried.

"Heh, I scared you good," the boy laughed as he took off his mask.

He had silver hair and square glasses. He wore a green sweater with a red and yellow stripe. His pants were brown.

"I wasn't scared," Chris said defensively. "I was just giving an example of how you're going to scare the others…but not me."

"Whatever," Kane laughed.

"Alright, moving along," Chris said. "Give it up for…Margot!"

Margot had shoulder length brown hair. She wore square glasses and had a blue dress with flowers on it.

"Hi, there, everyone," she greeted. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Ugly," Andre scoffed. "If you're going to be a scrawny girl, the least you do is look hot."

"Ignore him," Byron said. "He seems intent on becoming the first boot."

"And now," Chris said, "here's…Diego!"

All the girls stopped and stared as this boy stepped onto the sand. Even Siobhan could be separate from her game. Diego was a Hispanic boy with a chiseled face. He had brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a red sweater and brown pants.

"Uh…hi?" he said awkwardly.

"He's beautiful," Margot gasped.

"He's be my perfect match," Mandy drooled.

"He is utter perfection," Collette sighed.

"Uh, what are you people all talking about?" Diego asked. "Is there some joke I'm not getting…or something?"

"You'll figure it out soon enough, Diego," Chris said as he shoved him aside. "Now, let's check out…Gelatia!"

People waited for the next girl to show up. Suddenly in a burst of smoke she appeared…behind everyone.

"Gelatia the Glamorous has arrived!" she exclaimed boldly as she stepped through the smoke.

She had golden hair under a large top hat. She wore a red tube top that revealed much of her cleavage. Her midriff was covered only by a thin net and she wore a short black skirt. In her hand she held a black and white wand.

"Nice to meet you, Gelatia," Kane said as he held out his hand. "Put'er there."

Gelatia took his hand and it snapped off.

"Ah!" Kane screamed. "You broke off my hand!"

"Aaah!" Gelatia screamed.

She screamed so much that her eyes burst and blood spewed all over the contestants. Everyone screaming now.

"Heh, might want to work on that," Gelatia said as she revealed her eyes to be perfectly fine.

"How did you do that?" Kane asked as he held his heart.

"Magician's never really their secrets," Gelatia said with a smile.

"I'm willing to guess contacts that turn red at a given command, and tubes containing dyed corn-syrup connecting from behind your ears that can give the impression of blood flowing from the eyes," Margot explained.

"How very…astute of you," Gelatia said, holding back poison.

"Aheh, sorry, I didn't mean to come out with that," Margot said, clearly embarrassed. " I was just—"

"No, no," Gelatia said. "No need to apologize, great minds are always appreciated."

"Okay, let's keep moving," Chris said. "It's time we met…Lucas!"

A boy with incredibly long, orange hair stepped off the boat. He had a green headband and some stubble. His shirt was a rainbow of different colours while his pants were beige.

"Peace be with you all," he exclaimed as he extended his hands.

"What the hell?" Andre scoffed.

"I'm here to keep the drama levels to a minimum," Lucas explained. "I sincerely hope that we can all get along."

"Not gonna happen," Andre remarked.

"And now it's time for…" Chris continued, "…Stephanie!"

For a third time, nothing happened.

"No, no, no, you were supposed to start playing the music now!" a voice pouted. "Look, let's just try that again."

Chris rolled his eyes but said, "it's time for…Stephanie!"

Music filled the area as a girl stepped off the boat. She had red hair that was done up in a lopsided coiling braid. She wore a flat bar set of sunglasses and a dress that was half beige and plain and half flowing and red.

"Tada," she exclaimed as she tossed confetti about. "What? No applause?"

"Well, we already saw a pretty impressive entrance," Ricky said as he gestured to Gelatia. "No offense, but yours kinda pales in comparison."

"Oh, I see…" Stephanie said as she turned to Gelatia, no doubt narrowing her eyes behind her thick shades.

"Moving right along," Chris said. "Let's meet…Pierre!"

"Ah…c'est l'ile des defis extremes," the boy exclaimed. "Ah! Louis Mercier!"

He ran over to Chris and shook his hand.

"Uh, no, I'm Chris McClean," Chris corrected.

"Monsieur Mercier, ou est Gontran et Hugo et Joelle?" the boy asked.

"Look kid, I don't have a clue what you're saying," Chris said. "So either speak English or don't speak at all."

Pierre turned to the others and exclaimed, "Bonjour, je m'appelle Pierre!'

"Ooh, ooh, I took French once," Mandy exclaimed, "he said he phones to himself and Pierre?"

"All he said was his name is Pierre," Margot replied. "Bonjour, Pierre, Je m'appelle Margot. Est-ce que vous parlez Anglais?"

"Anglais? Pourquoi?" Pierre replied.

"Uh…he doesn't speak English," Margot told the others. "And he seems a little out of place."

"Well, he'll pick it up, how hard could it be?" Chris scoffed. "Now, let's meet…Lotte!"

A short girl stepped off the boat. She had black hair that was streaked with blond. She wore a purple button up shirt and a green skirt. She had an extremely bored look on her face.

"Hey," she said solemnly.

"You don't seem too happy to be here," Stephanie noted.

"Well, it's hard to feel happy when you're on a show that promotes the suffering of others as a form of entertainment," Lotte replied.

"Then why did you audition?" Ricky asked.

"I still want to win," Lotte shrugged. "I still need money, don't I? Even though money is the root of all evil and we'd all be better off without it. But whatever."

"Someone's a little strange," Byron whispered to Lucas.

"Nah, nah, don't say that," Lucas said. "We're happy to have you Lotte."

"Don't be," Lotte replied. "I'm going to be doing anything good for you."

"And on that uplifting note," Chris said, "let's welcome…Devlin."

A muscular boy with short, messy, brown hair stepped off the boat. He wore a grey undershirt and blue jeans. He held a heavy back that had a wrench and other tools poking out of it.

"Hey, let's get this race started!" he exclaimed. "With my auto skills I'm sure to take the lead."

"Uh, Devlin, the World Tour season is over," Chris said.

"Huh?" Devlin gasped as he dropped his bag. "Well, what am I supposed to do with all this, though?"

"Who knows, it could come in handy still," Chris said.

"You should be thankful," Lotte said. "Cars produce a lot of pollution and are part of the reason our environment is in such poor condition…but that being said, if you're going to use them anyway, I hope we're on the same team because they're still useful."

"Uh…thanks?" Devlin said.

"Finally, another guy who can actually hold his own out here," Andre said.

"Now, it's time to bring out…" Chris continued, "…Paige!"

"Woo!" a girl exclaimed as she frontflipped onto the beach. "Here I am!"

She had long, wavy blond hair under a ten gallon hat. Her face was covered in freckles and she wore a blue vest with a blue shirt.

"Yeehaw, I'm here for the party!" she exclaimed.

"Now, that's the spirit," Lucas said. "Give that smile up."

"You got it, Mr. Hippie Man!" Paige exclaimed as she shot him a huge grin.

"Okay, and now we come to the last boy to arrive," Chris said. "And it's…Casper!"

Casper was a tall boy with brown hair and a blood red mohawk. He had all sorts of piercings on his face. His black shirt was ripped at the sleeves and his jeans were full of tears. He kept his eyes on the ground.

"Welcome, Casper," Chris greeted.

"Doom and sorrow, pain and suffering," he whispered to himself.

"Is he okay?" Margot asked.

Casper looked up at everyone with a ghostly stare.

"Be afraid, be very afraid," he said. "Something dark and dangerous is lurking on this island."

"No, that's just Chris," Gelatia remarked.

"Okay, Casper, that's enough freaking out the others," Chris said. "And now we're rounding the bend. Let's welcome…Pepper!"

A girl with orange hair, done up in a large curling stack stepped onto the beach. She was covered in pimples and wore noticeable braces. She had a pearl necklace and a green dress with a leaf pattern on it.

"You are the last one to arrive, Pepper," Chris announced.

"Of course I am," Pepper said. "I'm last at everything. Last picked for dodgeball, last to get a date to the prom, and I like it that way! All you other people who think you're so much better than me, I hope you know that you're not! Everyone knows that the unpopular kids are truly the best. We're the nicest. We're the smartest. We're the ones who are bound to succeed in life while the rest of you scrape burgers off a grill for the rest of your pitiful lives!"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"She scares me," Diego whispered.

"Yeah, someone has issues," Devlin agreed.

"Okay, people!" Chris exclaimed. "The 18 of you are here to compete for one million dollars. And, as you probably know, this season will be a little bit different. There is no camp, and instead you'll be exploring this island, travelling like nomads. They'll be stops where you will have to compete for challenges. Each of these stops also has a Monument of Shame where you will take the Helicopter of Losers after being voted out by your teammates."

Everyone chattered with excitement.

"Okay, settle down," Chris said. "Our first challenge starts today. Your first stop is somewhere in this forest. Just a boring forest, we're keeping it simple…for now. You'll find the stop when you see a flag. And you'll want to get their fast, the sooner the better. With that in mind…begin!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**How dare that little rat reveal my secret! Who does she think she is?! I will destroy her in the most humiliating defeat possible, she will regret the day she ever heard of Gelatia the Glamorous! (She regains herself) Ahem…I'll be sure to deal with her.

**Pierre-**Pourquoi tout-le-monde parle Anglais? Quand j'ai regarde Defis Extremes y Quebec c'est tous en Francais.

**Margot-**Yeah, as you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a brainiac. But I really want to leave that behind for now, you don't make too many friends when you're constantly being a huge nerd. Heh…as you can see, it's not quite the easiest habit to break.

**Lucas-**Man, I've seen so many seasons where it's just heartbreak and betrayal. Tell me why we can't have one season of friendship?

**Diego-**I've been homeschooled most of my life after I had a bit of trouble fitting in back in Kindergarten. I really want a chance to interact with other kids my age, though. Still…it was weird who all those girls said I was hot…I'm not hot, am I?

**Lotte-**I'm in twenty-five different clubs at school and when you hear so many contradicting opinions you tend to stop caring. Oh…that reminds me, I told one of the clubs I'd do a shout out for them if I got here. I forget if I was supposed to say 'stop wasting plane fuel on petty vacations' for the environment club, or 'be sure to check out Hawaii this summer' for the travel club. Whatever, they're both good.

**Ricky-**My plan in this game is just to find someone who can carry me and cling to them. Let's say Andre. If I stay by him then he can do the work, and he get take the hits. Eheheheh.

* * *

The 18 explorers took off and began running through the sand.

"Alright, Panda-Boy, let's see how much you fail at this," Andre scoffed.

"I'd bet you that I'll be arriving first, while you're still running in circles," Byron retorted.

"Hey, Boss, wait up!" Ricky exclaimed.

"Were you talking to me or him?" Byron asked.

"Me obviously," Andre said as he grabbed Ricky and started running. "Now let's go!"

Byron narrowed his eyes as he ran after them. Meanwhile, Pepper was walking with Margot.

"Hey there, I just love your glasses," Pepper exclaimed. "They make you look like such a dork!"

"Um…thanks, I guess," Margot said awkwardly. "I like your…braces?"

"Oh, thank you!" Pepper gushed. "I don't need them or anything. I just wear them because they scream loserville!"

"Hey, hey, ladies, gather around!" Stephanie exclaimed as she grabbed Gelatia and waved for Pepper and Margot to join them. "Okay, I think we should align. Right now. Girl power rules!"

"Hm, alright, I'm game for that," Gelatia said.

"Sure, count me in," Margot said.

"I don't know, this feels awfully like a clique," Pepper said. "And I can't stand cliques."

"Then don't join," Stephanie said flatly. "We're leaving now."

"Wait!" Pepper exclaimed. "I'll come but no…cliquing!"

"Uh…got it," Stephanie said.

Meanwhile, Paige was dancing around Lotte.

"Howdy, wanna be friends!?" she asked. "Come on, let's work together."

"Eh, no thanks," Lotte said.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Paige insisted. "Now, let's go!"

With that she grabbed Lotte's hand and dragged her off into the forest. While this was going on, Diego was approaching Collette nervously.

"Hi, um, you seem nice and…stuff," he said. "So, wanna, like…work together?"

"Hm," Collette said as she examined Diego's face. "Yes. Having a muse such as yourself follow me shall make my art that much more…vivid!"

Pierre approached Casper and asked, "Est-ce qu'on peut travailler ensemble?"

"You feel…lost," Casper said. "And yet you only wish to dig yourself deeper into this maze. I'll work with you, but I cannot help you any more than that."

"Quoi? Je ne parle pas d'Anglais," Pierre replied.

"I'm gonna win this!" Mandy exclaimed as she daintily moved in her heels.

"You might want to rethink your wardrobe," Kane remarked.

"Hmph, my wardrobe is perfect," Mandy said. "And it's way better than your tacky sweater."

Soon everyone had taken off except for Devlin. He was busy dumping the contents of his back onto the sand.

"What are you up to Devlin?" Chris asked.

"Let's see if I can make the most of this stuff," Devlin said. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**Andre is a rude, disgusting person. He doesn't know who he's dealing with, I have trained my life for this kind of thing. It will be most gratifying when I knock him down a peg.

**Stephanie-**When this summer is over, people will remember me. I mean, I've still got to work on being as weird and out there as possible, and it looks like I have some competition, but I will pull it off.

**Pepper-**I'm keeping my eye on some of these girls. I suspect that they're probably popular. And if that's the case, they're dead to me.

**Diego-**I'm really working on coming out of my shell and making some real friends. Collette seems nice…a little odd, but nice.

**Casper-**For as long as I can remember I've been having terrifying nightmares. At first I didn't understand what they meant, but I've got to learn that they are messages, messages from the Dark Gods. I carry the burden of seeing things that no one should have to see.

* * *

"And the explorers are off!" Chris exclaimed. "Who will reach the stop first? Will Andre and Byron continue to go at each other? Will Stephanie succeed in making a name for herself? Will Pierre ever get a clue of what's going on? Find out when we come back on Total…Drama…Exploration!"

_Author's Note: Yeah, this opening is probably going to be somewhat shorter than the last two. Perhaps I could have put it all in one part, but I didn't want to break the pattern now. Anyways, part two will be open soon enough and then we'll have the first boot of this season. Please let me know what you think to give me an idea of which one is getting the best reception at the moment. Thanks._


	2. Going Up!

_Author's Note: Hey everyone. With this chapter I will have completed the first boot of each series. Now, I realize how confusing it must be to keep jumping between casts and I apologize for that. I'm going to try to help by including a cast list and a list of who was voted off at the end of each elimination. And I'm thinking I may just focus on one-or maybe two-of the series after this. I head back to class soon so progress will probably slow back down then._

"Welcome back to Total Drama Exploration!" Chris exclaimed from the same beach on the island. "The season where 18 explorers must make their through this mysterious island! Last episode we met the colourful new cast. It included such faces as Pierre, the kid who didn't speak English, Collette, the artist looking for inspiration, Diego, the homeschooled boy hoping to come out of his shell, and Stephanie, the girl who just wants to make a name for herself. All of them took off, heading for the first challenge. And speed is important, because the sooner the get there, the better it'll be for them. So, who will pull through and win? Who will be the critical first boot? Find out right now on Total…Drama…Exploration!"

(**Theme Song Plays**)

* * *

Andre and Ricky scrambled through the savage forest. Andre had taken the lead and was trying to stomp his way through everything. Ricky was struggling to keep up.

"Come on, pick up the pace," Andre growled. "I want to show these chumps how it's done."

"Yes, Boss, whatever you say," Ricky said as he sped up.

"Too late for that," Byron said as he slid by on a tree. "See you at the finish line…if you can even make it that far."

"Grrr! Get back here!" Andre shouted as he chased after Byron.

"Oof…uh, Boss?" Ricky exclaimed as he tripped over a root. "Uh…eheh."

Byron had already left boys behind by now, though. He was swinging between trees eagerly.

"Heh, let's see how smug he is by the end of today," Byron chuckled.

However, Byron suddenly stopped as he heard a girl's shrill scream.

"Help!" someone cried. "Oh God, someone please help!"

"I'm coming!" Byron exclaimed as he turned around and headed back towards the source of the scream.

Eventually, Byron came across Mandy was backed up against a tree and absolutely pale in the face.

"Are you alright?" Byron asked. "What's wrong?"

"Th-there," Mandy stammered nervously as she pointed in front of her.

A tiny spider was dangling from a web where she was pointing.

"This thing? It's harmless," Byron said as he brushed the spider aside.

"Oh, it was hideous!" Mandy cried as she hugged Byron. "My hero!"

"Uh, yeah," Byron said. "Well, are you going to be okay now?"

"Actually…it would be nice to have a strong hero like you escort me to the end," Mandy said.

Byron sighed to himself, clearing frustrated, but he said, "Very well, let's go."

"Oh, just a sec," Mandy exclaimed. "I need to fix my makeup. Don't go anywhere!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**While I was looking forward to beating Andre, I'm still a gentleman. Mandy seems very out of place here and she's going to need someone to hold her hand for now.

**Ricky-**Yeah I'm not exactly that strong. At all. But if Andre wants my vote at his side, he's going to have to keep me in. Ehehehe.

* * *

In another part of the forest, Gelatia, Stephanie, Margot, and Pepper were all walking together. None of them were particularly adept at navigating the forest. Margot and Pepper tripped and stumbled through all the roots and brambles, while Stephanie frequently got her dress snagged.

"Well, we're off to a good start," Gelatia grumbled.

"Perhaps we should pass the time by getting to know each other," Margot suggested. "Who wants to start?"

"I'll go first," Gelatia offered. "I'm a magician. I have been all my life. I had my first performance when I was four; I was my uncle's assistant."

"Whoa, that sounds exciting," Margot exclaimed.

"Well, it's a lot of hard work," Gelatia said. "But I've got to impress the crowds."

"Or you're just insecure," Pepper threw out.

"Um, excuse me?" Gelatia said icily.

"I find that most people who try to be good at things only do it because they're already insecure about themselves," Pepper said. "I don't have any particular talents, but you know what, I'm perfectly okay with that because, unlike you, I am able to be happy with who I am without dedicating my life to making people love me."

"Ah," Gelatia said. "Well, if that's your view."

"How about you, Stephanie?" Margot asked.

"Well, I'm not quite a magician, I'm a bit more…out there," Stephanie said. "I design costumes in my free time. All eyes are looking at me when I walk into class with my new, unconventional style."

"Attention is overrated," Pepper said. "I'd rather be happy and unnoticed then unhappy and the center of attention."

"Well, I am happy and the center of attention," Stephanie said. "What's your story, Margot?"

"Oh, you know, nothing interesting," Margot remarked. "This and that."

"You see, you two could really learn from this girl," Pepper exclaimed. "Just a simple girl who doesn't need all eyes on her, not some fame whore willing to sell her soul just to be a little more popular!"

"Okay…Pepper, I think they get it," Margot said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Pepper-**I don't have a problem with speaking my mind. What do I care about what people think of me? It's not like I want their approval.

**Gelatia-**Insecure!? She thinks I'm insecure!? Well, we'll see how 'secure' she feels when I lock her in a chamber of flesh-eating piranhas! Or vote her off, I suppose would be the simplest way.

* * *

Kane was making his way through a clump of shrubs. He was currently on his own. However, he soon heard some electronic noises. He looked around and spotted Siobhan walking through the forest with her eyes on her game system.

"Oh, this is going to be so great," Kane chuckled as he hid himself.

He crept after Siobhan as she made her way through the forest, all without ever moving her eyes. Kane was just about to grab Siobhan's shoulder, when she reached out and grabbed his wrist and flipped him over.

"I'd suggest not trying to break my attention when I'm in the zone," Siobhan said. "Especially when I'm on my last elephant and am just two mini-games away from being my high score…wait, yes…yes, high-score!"

"Uh…huh?" Kane asked as he got up and brushed himself off.

"You're Kane, right?" Siobhan said as she closed her game.

"That's right," Kane replied. "And…Siobhan?"

"You got it," she replied. "Now what are you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?"

"Just trying to get a good fright in," Kane said. "It's kinda what I do."

"Well, you came to the wrong girl then," Siobhan said. "You want to know what fear is, trying coming two seconds with saving over your favorite Harvest Moon file. Now that's scary."

"I see, I'll have to take a note," Kane said. "In the meantime, would you like to work together."

"Sounds dandy," Siobhan said. "My game needs to charge for now, so it'll be nice to have some company."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Kane-**Well, that was a bit of a disappointment. But at least Siobhan seems like a nice girl. I promise you, I will find someone to terrorize soon enough, though.

**Siobhan-**Party member recruited!

* * *

Paige hopped from tree to tree eagerly.

"Alrighty, the enemy is nowhere in sight," she said to Lotte. "I say it's time to strike!"

"Whatever," Lotte replied.

"Come on now, that's no attitude for the situation," Paige said. "Now, let's go!"

She grabbed Lotte again and dashed through the trees.

"Ooh, ooh, you know what I've always wanted to try!?" Paige asked.

"Why would I know that?" Lotte replied.

"I've always wanted to swing off one of these vines," Paige said. "You know, like how Izzy did back in season one."

"That's probably a bad idea, these vines could be endangered," Lotte said. "Or poisonous, but that's not as important as being endangered…apparently."

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Paige exclaimed. "Come on, we'll do it together."

Paige grabbed the vine with one hand and held onto Lotte with the other.

"Wheee!" Paige cheered as they soared through the trees.

"Whee," Lotte said unenthusiastically.

Suddenly, the two girls crashed into a branch and the vine spun around them until they were tightly tied down.

"Is it a good idea yet?" Lotte asked dryly.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Lotte-**Paige is a good person. As a member of Optimists United, I respect that she's making the world a better place by smiling…except not really.

* * *

Diego and Collette were walking together through another part of the woods. However, Collette was causing them to stop frequently.

"Oh my, yes, yes," Collette muttered as she spotted a flower. "This is the exact shade I've been looking for to express my inner feelings."

"Um, good," Diego said. "But, uh, didn't you say that about the last five flowers?"

"My emotions are fluid," Collette said. "I can't be expected to be contained to one particular colour. Now if you excuse me, I must replicate this."

She pulled out a sketch book and several paints. She began mixing them experimentally.

"Well, um, maybe it would be a good idea to do that once we get to the end," Diego suggested.

"By memory? I don't think so," Collette scoffed. "True beauty like this comes along once in a lifetime."

"Or five times in an hour," Diego sighed under his breath.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Diego-**I'm starting to think that Collette might be a little…unusual. I mean, I know I don't have a lot of experience with girls, but they don't normally act like this…right?

**Collette-**Prize? Challenges? I'm sorry, those are only secondary to my main goal: to find my inspiration for a masterpiece.

* * *

Casper and Pierre were walking together.

"D'accord…qu'est-ce qu'on fait?" Pierre asked.

"I apologize, I cannot understand you," Casper said.

"Anglais? Tous Anglais," Pierre sighed.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one who's lost," Casper said. "All of humanity is lost in an endless maze that they're not even aware of you. At least you know you're out of place."

Pierre blinked as he looked at Casper.

"Of course, you don't understand a word I'm saying," Casper sighed. "Let's just keep walking then."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Casper-**Why did I audition for this show? I was compelled by a voice in my dreams. I have some grander purpose for being here. Whether it's simply winning, or something more, I have yet to find out. But I will soon. The nightmares never disappear for long.

* * *

(Byron and Mandy)

"Oh, wait up," Mandy exclaimed. "My shoe got stuck in the mud…I had to spend the last five minutes cleaning it off."

"Of course you did," Byron sighed. "Look, Mandy, you have any concept of a race."

"Well, I'm Canadian," Mandy said. "And you look Asian."

"That's not what I—never mind," Byron sighed.

After some more slow travelling, they saw some movement. They came across Kane and Siobhan walking together.

"Hi, guys," Siobhan greeted.

"Hello," Byron said. "How are you guys doing?"

"Pretty good," Kane said. "No sign of the endpoint yet, though."

"Yeah, I wish this was a side-scroller," Siobhan remarked. "No confusion there."

"Well, why don't we all team up?" Byron offered. "At least that way we can all arrive at the same time."

"Sounds good," Kane agreed.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Mandy-**Um, Byron didn't ask me if I was okay with teaming up with those two. I'd rather not work with the gross geek and Mr. Tacky Shirt. Hmph.

**Siobhan-**And our party further expands. Now we've got a tank and a millstone. Looking pretty good, if you ask me.

* * *

(Devlin)

Devlin was on the beach, busily screwing pieces together.

"What you got there, Devlin?" Chris asked.

"Well, it's going to need a bit more work," Devlin remarked. "But I think the Devlin-mobile will carry me to victory."

He presented a half-finished small cart with four wheels. One of the wheels popped off.

"Oops, I'll get that," Devlin said as he quickly wrenched back on. "Now, would you like a demonstration?"

Devlin pressed a button and the cart rolled forward…before flipping over on its side.

"Well…that's just because it's on sand," Devlin said. "It'll work better on the grass."

"Whatever you say, Dev," Chris said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Devlin-**Yeah, I'm bummed that they're not doing the world race anymore, but I can make the most of this. I'm going to be my team's biggest asset!

* * *

(Lucas)

Lucas hummed a tune to himself as he wandered through the forest. However, he stopped when he came across Lotte and Paige tied to a tree.

"Oh my," Lucas exclaimed. "What are you two silly ladies doing, tying yourself up like this?"

"Because we totally did this on purpose," Lotte said as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you think you could be a pal and help us down?" Paige asked.

"I'd be happy to," Lucas said as he began pulling off the vines.

Paige landed gracefully on her feet, while Lotte crashed down on her back.

"Thank you kindly," Paige exclaimed. "Perhaps you'd like to join us."

"I'd love to," Lucas exclaimed.

"Great, you two can be best friends and leave me alone," Lotte said.

"Oh, don't be crazy Lotte, you're still my friend too," Paige said.

"Yeah, I'm making sure no one feels left out on my team," Lucas added.

"Terrific," Lotte grumbled as the two linked arms with her and carried on.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Lucas-**I'm glad I met those lovely girls. If we all end up on the same team then there's not going to be any drama at all. We'll all get along just fine.

**Lotte-**Yeah, I'm voting him out first.

* * *

(Pepper, Margot, Stephanie, and Gelatia)

"I feel like we should have arrived by now," Stephanie sighed. "I still don't see any sign of anything."

"Is it possible we've going around in circles?" Margot asked. "Everything just looks similar."

"Well, I'd say it's likely," Pepper said. "Considering the two girls leading us clearly value beauty more than brains."

"Okay, I'm really starting to get fed up with you," Gelatia grumbled.

"Why? It's true, isn't it?" Pepper asked. "You think that your looks will get you far, not your brains, it's just who you are. And now we're lost."

"Look, I don't see you offering to help," Stephanie said.

"Well, I'm sure you popular kids would be too proud to ask a little dork like me for help," Pepper replied.

"Okay…who wants to see a magic trick!?" Gelatia exclaimed.

"Magic?" Pepper asked.

"I really don't think this is the time for—" Margot began.

"Shut up, I want to see this," Stephanie interrupted. "Go on."

"Okay, stand back and be amazed!" Gelatia exclaimed.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a black cloth. It kept on coming out though until it was a full black curtain. She strung in over some trees and let it hang. Then she pulled it off to reveal a large red box covered in stars.

"Ooh, bravo!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Where did that come from?" Margot gasped in surprise.

"Now, I'm going to need a volunteer," Gelatia said. "How about you?"

"Me?" Pepper asked as she grabbed her.

"Yes….Get in!" Gelatia exclaimed as she tossed the girl into the box.

The box shut closed.

"Now for the real magic to begin," Gelatia exclaimed dramatically. "Abra-Ka-Vanisho!"

There was a large boom followed by purple smoke pouring out of the box. When Gelatia opened it, Pepper was gone.

"Where did she go?" Margot gasped.

"How should I know?" Gelatia shrugged. "A frankly I don't care, just so long as she's out of our hair."

"Encore, encore!" Stephanie cheered.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**You see! That is why you don't mess with Gelatia the Glamorous! I will put you in a box and make you disappear. Forever.

**Stephanie-**I'm trying to pick up on Gelatia's star power. Clearly I've still got a long way to go.

**Margot-**All magic can be explained by science. I'll just…need to think about this for a bit.

* * *

(Andre and Ricky)

The two boys continued to plow through the wild vegetation.

"I think I see something," Ricky exclaimed. "Is that the flag?"

"It'd better be!" Andre replied. "I'm ready for some action."

The two boys pulled through and arrived at a small clearing. There was a red flag in the middle with Chris McClean standing next to it.

"Andre, Ricky," Chris greeted. "Congratulations, you are the first two to arrive."

"Ha, in your face, Panda!" Andre exclaimed. "What'd we win?"

"We'll get to the details a little later," Chris said. "First let's wait for some of the others to arrive."

"But you said that the sooner we got here the better," Ricky pointed out.

"True," Chris said. "And you'll be glad you did get here when you did, but we still need a few more before we can begin."

"Yeehaw!" Paige exclaimed as she flipped into the clearing. "We made it!"

"Good job team," Lucas exclaimed as he followed.

"Yay," Lotte said emotionlessly.

"Paige, Lucas, and Lotte, also good job," Chris said.

"Can we start now?" Andre demanded impatiently.

"Nope, not yet," Chris chuckled.

Andre kicked a rock in frustration, "Well, hurry it up."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Lucas-**Hm, Andre needs to chill out. I'm sure he's a nice guy, though, he's probably just a little rough around the edges.

**Andre-**I didn't work to get first place just so I could wait for others to catch up. This is so bull.

* * *

(Devlin)

Devlin had finished putting together and was sitting it in now.

"Okay, time to win this thing!" he exclaimed.

His cart took off at a snail's pace.

"Woo!" he exclaimed. "I'm tearing it up now."

He was just barely entering the forest.

"Yeah," he said starting to lose his enthusiasm. "Let's go…aw man, this sucks."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Devlin-**Well, it's not my fault…I'm used to designing machines for the road, not the wild.

* * *

(Byron, Mandy, Kane, and Siobhan)

"We've got to be getting close by now," Byron remarked.

"I hope so," Kane said.

"I'm ready to start this challenge," Siobhan exclaimed. "First bosses are always a fun way to see what you're dealing with."

"Oh, look, I think I see the flag," Byron exclaimed.

"Ooh, really?!" Mandy exclaimed excitedly. "Out of my way, me first, me first."

Mandy eagerly shoved her way past everyone and ran out into the clearing.

"Mandy, good job on making it," Chris said.

"Alright, we did it!" Kane exclaimed as the other three emerged.

"Eh…not so fast," Chris said. "Since Mandy made it first, she shall be joining this team of six…the rest of you need to wait."

"What, that's no fair," Byron gasped.

"Ha, what'd I tell you," Andre scoffed. "Looks like I'm on the golden team and you're on the loser team."

"Now, let me explain how this challenge works," Chris said. "Look up and you will see a red line marked on a tree. Your goal is to stack a tower up to that mark using only what you can find around you. If you can keep the tower stable for three seconds at that level then your team will win. And what will you be playing for…"

Chris turned to reveal several tents set up.

"The team to finish first shall get this luxury tent, the size of a small house," Chris said. "Complete with soft mattresses and a cooler of food. The second team to finish shall get this ordinary tent. Not a lot of room in it, but you'll get sleeping bags and some graham crackers. And then team that comes in last place will get this tarp. It may be a tent in need of assembly, it may just be a tarp, I don't know. But that's all you get, you'll have to find your own food from what you can forage. Oh and you'll be voting someone off of your team, that's kinda important."

"Easy stuff, Chris, I'll win this in no time," Andre exclaimed.

"Well, since your team is complete, you may begin first," Chris said. "Andre, Ricky, Paige, Lucas, Lotte, and Mandy, I just need you to come up with a team name and then you'll get a jumpstart on the challenge. Byron, Siobhan, and Kane, you'll need to wait till your team is complete before you may begin."

"Okie-dokie, guys, team name, what's it gonna be?" Paige asked.

"We need a name that tells every how awesome we are," Andre said. "Or at least, how awesome I am."

"Team Fantastic?" Paige suggested.

"We need a name that covers our utter fabulousness, too though," Mandy said. "Something like Team Glamorous."

"Wait guys…synergy time," Lucas exclaimed. "You say Team Fantastic, and you say Team Glamorous. So, I suggest…Team Glamtastic."

"Hm, I approve," Mandy said.

"Yeah, I like it," Paige agreed.

"Well, I don't," Andre scoffed. "That name sounds gay."

"Let's do this democratically," Lucas said. "All in opposed to Team Glamtastic?"

Andre put his hand up. He jabbed Ricky who quickly put his hand up too.

"Alright," Lucas said. "And all for Team Glamtastic?"

He, Mandy, and Paige all put their hands up.

"Lotte, you didn't vote," Lucas said.

"I don't care one way or another," Lotte said.

"Well, that gives us the majority," Paige exclaimed. "Team Glamtastic it is!"

With a ping a pink icon of two hearts appeared in the corner.

"Worst team name ever," Andre grumbled.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**I was just one spot away from being on the first team. If I hadn't stopped to help Mandy I probably would have made it easily. Oh well, at least I'm not on the same team as Andre, and he can put up with Mandy now.

**Andre-**Clearly, I'm going to have to carry this team. Half of them are girls, so you can count them out right away. But Ricky and Lucas don't really seem that much better.

**Paige-**Yay, my new team is super awesome! We're going to have a lot of fun together.

**Mandy-**Well, clearly I'm the only one with a sense of style on this team. But I'm willing to work to improve the others. If we're going to be teammates, we might as well be friends.

* * *

"Alright guys, let's get this done!" Andre exclaimed. "Grab wood, grab rocks, grab whatever you can."

As the team rushed off to work on the first challenge, Byron, Siobhan, and Kane watched.

"Well, looks like we'll be working together for a while," Byron said. "You guys seem like hard workers, so I think we're going to be a strong team."

"Whoa, Andre finished already!" Kane exclaimed.

"What?!" Bryon gasped.

"Nah, I just wanted to see your face," Kane laughed.

Siobhan, meanwhile, had pulled out her game again.

"Yay, my peach tree has grown!" she exclaimed. "Time to take Tom Nook to the cleaners."

At that minute, Diego and Collette stumbled out of the woods.

"Oh look, did we make it?" Diego asked.

"You made it, Diego," Chris said. "However, you'll be placed on the second team, as you can see here. You guys need one more before you can begin."

Andre and Ricky were beginning to stack their tower now. They used a pile of rocks as a base and began placing logs on top. It was clearly very shaky.

"Oh, I got one!" Mandy exclaimed as she held up a twig.

"That's not going to be any good," Andre said. "Go get some of those logs."

"But…then I'd get dirt on my dress," Mandy said.

"Woo!" Paige exclaimed as she tossed whatever she could grab on top of the monument.

With a final quiver, it collapsed and fell to the ground.

"Way to go, Paige, now we have to start all over!" Andre snapped.

"It was your own fault for making it so unstable," Lotte said.

"And why aren't you helping?" Andre demanded to her.

"Don't feel like it," Lotte replied.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**Yeah, it's probably for the best I didn't end up on that team. They're a disaster.

**Lucas-**Everything will work out fine. We're just ironing out the kinks right now.

* * *

Suddenly, a nearby outhouse starting spewing out smoke.

"What is going on over there?" Diego asked.

"Oh, I told them to fix this," Chris grumbled.

As he opened the door, Pepper stumbled out.

"Pepper, how did you get in there?" Chris asked.

"I…don't…know," she said dizzily as she held her head.

"Well, you've made it to the second team," Chris said. "Since you've got six now, you may choose your name and begin."

"Okay guys, we need a name of something epc," Siobhan exclaimed.

"Something mystical," Collette said.

"Something that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies," Kane added.

"Something esoteric so the popular kids won't get it," Pepper suggested.

"Something that connects us with this island," Byron suggested.

"Uh…yeah, that," Diego said, not having anything else to add.

"Hm…" Collette said thoughtfully. "Team Gaea. Gaea was one of the first deities, so that's certainly epic. She is the substance of myths. She is quite powerful and dangerous. And she is associated with the earth."

"Sounds good," Byron agreed.

"And?" Pepper prompted.

"And you'd have to pay attention in history class to know all this," Collette added.

"Team Gaea it is!" Siobhan exclaimed.

With that a green icon of a flower coming out of dirt appeared.

"Now, let's win this challenge," Kane added.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Diego-**My team looks good. There seems to be a lot of nice, fun people on it. I hope they like me.

**Pepper-**Second team is good. First team thinks they're so great because they're first, but third team thinks they're so great because they're underdogs. I'm perfectly happy with being on this team.

**Siobhan-**And the party is complete. Unless of course we get some unlockable characters.

* * *

Team Gaea was working fast to their tower started. Thanks to Team Glamtastic's fumble, they were soon at equal lengths.

"We're doing good guys," Byron said. "Keep it up."

"Hm, I don't know about this," Collette said. "There's nothing particularly inspiring about this art. It feels more like labour."

"That's because it is," Kane pointed out.

"Couldn't we structure it so it was less generic?" Collette asked. "I am artist, everything I touch must represent the endless swirl of emotion within humanity."

"Uh…no," Kane replied.

"Gah! They're getting ahead!" Andre shouted at his team. "Come on, people, pick it up!"

At that moment, Gelatia, Margot, and Stephanie arrived.

"Whoa, whoa, how did you get here?" Stephanie asked as she pointed at Pepper.

"I don't know," Pepper said. "I just went into that box and came out here."

"Oh, so that's where it went," Gelatia remarked.

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense," Margot exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

"I think you're missing the bigger point," Stephanie said. "Gelatia could have teleported us here instead of having to walk."

"Okay, guys, chill out, I didn't know it would lead here," Gelatia said.

"Well, you three are going to be the start of the third team," Chris said. "I don't feel like explaining again so I'll give you the abridged version. Tower, up, tents, tarp, vote someone out. Okay?"

"We'll…figure it out," Margot said.

"But you can't start yet," Chris said. "Your team is still incomplete."

Team Gaea was taking a strong lead by now.

"Okay, good, fit those sticks together," Byron instructed.

"I wish I had my Pikmin with me," Siobhan remarked as she dragged a rock over. "They could have this stuff piled up in no time."

"Okay, let's be careful with this one," Byron said. "Pepper, can you grab some vines so we can tie it down?"

"On it," Pepper exclaimed as she ran over to the trees.

"Diego, can you give me a hand in lifting this up?" Byron said.

"Yes sir," Diego said.

"We're losing!" Andre shouted at his team.

Team Glamtastic had managed to get a very shaky tower up, but it was only half as tall as Team Gaea's.

"We're trying as hard as we can," Paige said as she climbed up a tree to drop more stones on the tower.

"That's not hard enough!" Andre shouted as he kicked the base of the tower.

Again, it collapsed into a pile.

"I'm no expert on teamwork," Lotte said, "but maybe if you stopped doing that we'd be better off."

"Shut up, I don't' need your advice!" Andre snapped.

"Now, let's all take deep breaths and go to our happy place," Lucas said.

"No!" Andre shouted. "We don't have time. We need to start over!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**Heh, gotta love seeing Andre screw his team over and lose their lead. I'm sure he'll make a fine first boot.

**Lucas-**(in a meditating position) Happy place, birds, oceans, flowers, ah…

**Stephanie-**Our team is automatically in last place?! Seriously, this won't stand. And we can't even start without the rest of our team. This is majorly unfair.

* * *

Pierre and Casper emerged and Chris directed them over to the three girls.

"Okay, can we start now?" Gelatia asked.

"Nope," Chris said. "One more to go."

"Ugh," Gelatia groaned. "The challenge will be over by the time we even start."

Team Gaea was nearing the mark by now.

"Hm, we seem to have a problem," Kane noted. "It's too high for us to reach. Unless we want to just start throwing stuff up and hope it lands on the top."

"Don't worry, I can get up there," Siobhan said.

"Are you sure?" Byron asked.

"Come on, I've played DK: King of Swing," Siobhan said. "It's not much different."

"Except it's real," Diego pointed out.

"Real, schmeal," Siobhan scoffed. "If DK can do it, then so can I."

With that, Siobhan grabbed a branch and swung herself up. She get swinging up until she was high above everyone.

"Okay, I made it!" she exclaimed proudly.

"Great," Byron said. "Now find some more branches and keep piling them up."

"You're almost there," Pepper added.

Over at Team Glamtastic, progress was still moving slowly.

"Okay, okay," Lucas said. "Let's take a step back and think about we're doing wrong."

"What we're doing wrong is that you people suck at building towers!" Andre shouted. "Just back off and leave it to competent people. IE, me."

"Well, considering you did knock over the last tower," Lotte pointed out. "But, I'm just saying."

"Guys, we have time to slow down," Lucas said. "The third team hasn't even started yet. We can still get an easy second."

"Second, to Fortune Cookie?!" Andre scoffed. "I don't think so. Now, back to work, we're wasting time!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Diego-**Wow, Siobhan is pretty talented. She sure surprised me.

**Collette-**We may have the lead, but at what cost? A bland, uninteresting, monument that is only built to serve one function…It pains me.

**Paige-**Andre needs to seriously stop being such a pain. Even if we're not doing so swell, we could at least try to stay positive and friendly.

* * *

(Devlin)

Devlin was still moving at a painfully slow pace.

"Come on, pick it up," he said. "Any day now."

His wheel hit a rock and the entire cart came to a stop.

"Oh, forget this!" Devlin groaned as he got up.

He then picked it up and threw it over his back. He was only moving marginally faster than when he'd been riding the cart.

"Here…I come," he exclaimed breathlessly.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Devlin-**Well, I can't be that far behind. I mean, the others probably had just as much problems as I did.

* * *

(The Challenge)

"What is the freaking hold up?!" Gelatia grumbled as they were still forced to wait.

"We might as well just quit now and take third place," Stephanie remarked. "We all know that we're voting for whoever the last person to arrive is."

"Now, now, let's stay positive," Margot said. "I'm sure he'll be showing up any minute now."

A minute went by and no one showed up.

"Any minute now," Margot repeated.

Again nothing.

"Okay, forget it," Margot grumbled.

"You seem two seem oddly calm about this," Stephanie said to Pierre and Casper.

"I did like bother with trivial problems," Casper replied. "I have much bigger burdens."

"Hm too?" Stephanie asked as she gestured to Pierre.

"No, he just has no clue where he is," Casper said.

"Salut," Pierre said to Stephanie with a grin.

"I…see," Stephanie noted.

Team Gaea was nearing the top by now. Siobhan was just piling the last couple of branches on.

"And there it is," she exclaimed.

"And now we just have to wait for the three seconds," Chris said. "1…

…

…

2…

…

…

…

3!

"Team Gaea wins first place!" Chris exclaimed.

"Yes!" the team cheered in unison.

"No!" Andre roared as he ran to kick his tower again.

Luckily, Paige grabbed him and held him back before he could reach it.

"Team Gaea will be given the luxury tents for tonight," Chris said. "As well as a cooler full of delicious food. And all of you will be safe for tonight."

Siobhan dropped back down to join her team.

"Good work!" Diego exclaimed as he high-fived her.

"Not bad, eh, Andre?" Byron taunted.

"Shut up!" Andre spat.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Pepper-**Ha, take that popular kids! Off freaks always come out on top!

**Collette-**Hm…it'll do. I'm going to work on my art now.

**Byron-**You're going to be seeing a lot more of this. This is a team that works!

**Andre-**He got lucky! That's it!

* * *

Gelatia was drumming her fingers on her wand impatiently.

"One team has already finished and we're still waiting," she growled. "This is not the style of Gelatia the Glamorous."

"Yeah," Stephanie agreed. "Neither is it the style of Stephanie the…um…Glamorous?"

"Get your own title," Gelatia said.

"Well, at least the other team doesn't seem to be anywhere near finishing," Margot said as they watched Team Glamtastic continuing to fumble with their project.

Finally, Devlin made it to the stop. He was sweaty and out of breath.

"Hey…guys," he wheezed.

"Devlin, how nice of you to join us," Chris said. "And you may join team number three."

"Where the hell have you been?" Gelatia snapped. "We are at a huge disadvantage thanks to you."

"Sorry, sorry," Devlin said apologetically. "I can make up for it, I promise, let's just get started on this challenge."

"Actually," Chris said. "There's still the matter of your team name. You must come up with one before you begin."

"Fine, let's just come up with something quick," Gelatia said.

"We need something clever," Margot said. "Like Team Alexander, after Alexander the Great."

"No, we need something that stands out more," Stephanie said. "Like, Team Washing Machine."

"That name is lame," Devlin said. "I want something manly, like Team Crusher."

"We should have a team that demands both respect and fear," Casper said. "Team Judgment."

Soon everyone was overlapping and arguing about the team.

"People," Gelatia said trying to get their attention, "people…please, settle down…people…hey…"

She wasn't having any luck.

"Abra-ka-Krakaboom!" Gelatia exclaimed as thunder and lightning filled the area.

Then it disappeared and everyone was silent.

"That's better," Gelatia said. "Now, let's take this one at a time…would do you think?"

She posed to question to the nearest person to her, Pierre.

"Je pense que…" Pierre said thoughtfully, "vous portez trop de maquillage."

"Hm…I like the French ring to it, but I think that's a little too long," Gelatia said.

Then everyone returned to arguing with each other.

"Okay, that's it!" Gelatia snapped. "Our name is Team Drama!"

Everyone groaned in disappointment.

"That name is lame," Stephanie groaned. "And boring."

"No creativity whatsoever," Margot added.

"Team Drama it is," Chris said as a gold D appeared. "Now, I'd get to work if I were you."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**My team is ridiculous. We wasted so much time just waiting for Devlin to show up, and then they couldn't even settle on a team name. Someone had to put a stop to it and actually get some work done.

**Stephanie-**Yeah, we're pretty much screwed.

**Pierre-**Qu'est-ce qu'arrive? Pourquoi tout-le-monde crie?

**Devlin-**Okay, maybe I could have been a little quicker. But I think my team will see what I'm worth soon enough.

* * *

"It's coming down to Team Glamtastic versus Team Drama," Chris said. "The next one to finish will get the plain tent, and be immune. The losers will get only the tarp and have to vote out one of their own."

Team Glamtastic had managed to get some work done without it falling apart, but they still had a way to go. Team Drama was just beginning.

"Okay, people," Gelatia said. "We need to work fast. We've fallen behind, but we are not going down without a fight!"

The team split up and grabbed what they could.

"Let's keep it steady," Margot said. "We don't want this to come crashing down on us."

"Here, these rocks fit together nicely," Delvin said as he worked on the base.

"We are not losing!" Andre shouted at his team. "It's bad enough that we got second, but no, I will not take failure!"

"We're trying," Paige said as she climbed up the tree to pile more material on. "We have to be careful or else we'll be starting over. Again."

"I'm helping," Mandy declared as she placed more twigs on the tower.

"Looking good, looking good," Lucas said. "Almost there."

Team Drama realized that they had to pick up the pace.

"We'll need something to use as ropes to stop this from wobbling," Casper said.

"I'll grab some vines," Margot said.

"No time," Gelatia exclaimed. "Use this."

She held out a scarf from her shirt. Casper pulled on it, and found that it was incredibly long.

"Say when," Gelatia said.

"Uh, that's good," Casper said.

"Abra-ka-severus!" Gelatia exclaimed and the scarf ended with a final tug.

"Team Glamtastic still has the lead," Chris narrated. "But Team Drama is making fast progress."

Over at Team Glamtastic, Ricky and Lucas were tossing stones and branches up at Paige who would place them on the tower. Each time she put one down it would sway slightly from side to side.

"Careful, careful," Lucas said.

"If we lose, I'm blaming you for this!" Andre shouted at Paige.

"You can blame her all you want, you're still the one leaving," Lotte said. "Again, just saying."

"Shut up, nobody asked you!" Andre snapped.

Team Drama was gaining on them. However, it was getting harder for them to get stuff up without knocking it over. Progress began to slow down for them.

"We need someone to climb a tree," Gelatia said. "That's what the other teams are doing."

"On it," Devlin exclaimed as he tried climbing up a tree.

He did not pull it off flawlessly though and required quite a bit of struggling. Once he reached the first branch, it snapped and he fell back to the ground.

"Someone competent, please," Gelatia grumbled.

Team Drama was nearing the red mark.

"Sorry, none of us are particularly fit," Margot remarked. "That's what happens when you make a team out of all the people who are last to finish a race."

"We got it!" Paige exclaimed as she placed one last stick on the tower.

"Now, can it withstand the three seconds?" Chris asked. "Let's find out…1…"

…

…

…

…

2…

…

…

…

…

…3!

"Team Glamtastic wins second place!" Chris exclaimed.

Chris was met with a half-hearted cheer. Lucas, Paige, Mandy, and Ricky all seemed happy, while Andre and Lotte were less enthusiastic.

"And that means that Team Drama...so sorry, you will be sending someone home," Chris said. "If you look over at that hill you'll find the first Monument of Shame. I'll meet you there for your elimination."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Andre-**I'll take second place, but I'm not happy about it. My team had better get it together.

**Mandy-**Yay, we won. I'm sure my beautiful face was keeping morale up.

**Gelatia-**Yeah, I saw this coming. But at least there are plenty of losers to pick from.

**Stephanie-**Losing the first challenge? This is no way to start this game. Especially for Stephanie the…Spunky? Stellar? Superb? Eh, I'll come up with something.

**Pierre-**Est-ce qu'on a gange? Perdu? Quelqu'on doit m'expliquer!

* * *

(Later)

Team Drama had strewn up their tarp in the trees. It just barely sheltered all of them. Margot sat down next to Stephanie who was eating some berries that she had found.

"So, who are you thinking needs to go?" Margot asked.

"The way I see it, it's between Pierre and Devlin," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, those both make sense," Margot agreed. "Pierre's really out of place here, but Devlin pretty much cost us the challenge."

Meanwhile, Pierre was talking with Casper.

"D'accord, comment s'appelle la fille avec le grand chapeau?" Pierre asked.

"I'm sorry, I really don't understand," Casper said. "I suggest you talk to Margot over there, she seems to speak French."

"Quoi?" Pierre asked.

"Margot," Casper repeated as he pointed in her direction. "Talk. To. Her."

Pierre figured out what he was saying and approached Margot.

"Excusez-moi," Pierre said as he grabbed Margot's sleeve.

"Oh, hi," Margot said. "What can I do for you—er, qu'est ce-que vous voulez?"

"Je veux te parler," Pierre said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Margot-**Hm, I can understand Pierre and he could be a useful ally if I work with him. But on the other hand, the language barrier really could hurt our chances in the future. Hm, I'll have to think about this.

**Pierre-**La fille avec le grand chapeau est folle. Elle est tres mechante, je sais!

* * *

(Monument of Shame)

The six member of Team Drama had climbed the hill and come to a statue that was an exact replica of Chris. The real Chris was standing in front of it smugly.

"Team Drama!" Chris exclaimed. "You got a rough start, and weren't able to recover from it. And now it's time to vote someone off. Casper, how do you feel about this?"

"It was inevitable," Casper said with a shrug. "You can't fight fate, and all but one of us are fated to demise…of course, all of humanity shares the same fate, but not as immediately."

"I see, interesting take," Chris said. "How about you, Stephanie? Why do you feel you lost?"

"Because this doofus took forever to get here," Stephanie said as she pointed at Devlin.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry," Devlin exclaimed defensively.

"That doesn't make it any better," Stephanie grumbled.

"So, Devlin, are you worried?" Chris asked.

"Of course not, man," Devlin said. "Look at me, I'm the strongest one on this team. And they're going to need my strength if that don't want to make this a reoccurring thing."

"Um, excuse me?" Gelatia scoffed. "You couldn't even climb a tree. Yeah, real useful."

"Well, we shall we how it plays out tonight," Chris said. "Now, I've got one last question…which one of you is 'le file ayvec le grand chappo?'"

Pierre pointed at Gelatia.

"Okay then," Chris said. "Let's get this started. If I hand you a marshmallow you are safe. But if you do not receive a marshmallow you must take the Helicopter of Losers and never come back…maybe."

Everyone nodded.

"Now, the first marshmallow goes to," Chris said, "…Stephanie!"

"First marshmallow!" Stephanie exclaimed. "That's gotta count for something."

"Next up," Chris said, "it's…"

"Margot!"

"Casper!"

"Aaaaannnddd….Devlin!"

Devlin sighed in relief as he accepted his marshmallow. This left Gelatia and Pierre without one.

"Okay, you guys," Chris said. "One of you gets the last marshmallow and the other gets the honour of being the first explorer voted out of Total Drama Exploration. The final marshmallow goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Gelatia…AKA, 'Le file ayvec le grand chappo.'"

"Thank you, Chris," Gelatia said as she accepted the marshmallow.

"Pierre, it's time to leave," Chris said.

"Quoi?" Pierre asked with confusion. "Qu'est-ce qu'arrive?"

A helicopter came down and landed behind the statue.

"Time to go, Pierre," Chris said as he took Pierre over to it.

"Ah," Pierre said in realization. "D'accord…au revoir tout-le-monde. Au revoir Louis Mercier."

"Who?" Chris asked. "Just get in."

With that Pierre got into the helicopter and was taken up into the night sky.

"Okay, Team Drama," Chris said. "The rest of you have survived the first boot. And today is a new day, perhaps you can turn it around. I'll see you next time, until then you may head back to your…tarp."

* * *

(Later, Team Gaea)

Team Gaea was enjoying the luxury tent and their first win.

"Woo! Victory party!" Siobhan cheered.

Byron opened the cooler and handed out sandwiches to everyone.

"Let's do this every time," he said. "Let's be champions."

"I don't like your attitude," Pepper said. "We're losers, not elitists."

"Well, we did win," Kane pointed out. "And the others didn't."

"Oh my god!" Pepper exclaimed. "I've become what I've hated!"

Pepper curled up in terror.

"Are you…okay?" Collette asked.

"Oh, yeah I'll be fine," Pepper exclaimed as she got back up.

"Well, guys I'm going to try to get some sleep," Diego said. "We want to be rested for the next challenge."

Diego pulled back the sheets of his mattress and screamed. There was a bloody heart on his bed.

"Aaaah!" he screamed as he ran out of the tent.

"Heh, I was waiting for someone to find that," Kane chuckled. "I took a tip from Gelatia. Corn syrup does look surprisingly like blood."

"That wasn't very nice," Siobhan scolded.

"It's just a joke," Kane said. "He'll laugh once he realizes that."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Kane-**Well, it looks like I've found my victim.

**Pepper-**So, if I keep winning, then that will make me into a popular kid…so maybe I should throw some challenges…but that would make those other popular kids smug and treat me like a loser again…and then if I win, that would make the other teams mad at me, so in a way that would make me unpopular…you can see the predicament I'm in.

* * *

(Team Glamtastic)

The six members of the team had all crammed into the tent together. There was just enough room for all of them, but they were quite cramped.

"Move over," Andre groaned.

"You move over," Paige said. "I'm on my bag."

"Guys, let's just remember to breath and compromise," Lucas said.

"Oh, you shut up," Andre retorted.

"All of you shut up," Mandy snapped. "I need my beauty sleep if I'm going to look as gorgeous as I do now."

"I can't go to sleep with Andre breathing on me like that," Paige said. "Roll over."

"We're not getting any sleep either way," Lotte pointed out. "The ground is hard and this tent is cold."

"Well, that's one way to look at it," Lucas said.

"What part of shut up, didn't you understand," Andre snapped.

"It's going to be a long night," Ricky sighed.

* * *

**Votes:**

**Gelatia-**I'm saving a much more humiliating defeat for that worm, Margot. In the meantime, Pierre…I can't understand a word you say. I'm sorry, there's just no room for you here.

**Devlin-**I vote for the French dude, Pierre. He seems like a nice guy, but he won't be much use if he can't understand us.

**Casper-**Consider this a mercy, Pierre, I am freeing you from months of unnecessary wandering.

**Stephanie-**I'd love to vote for Devlin, but…he just might come in handy. Or, more handy than Pierre at least.

**Pierre-**Je vote pour la fille avec le grand chapeau. Je peux voir dans ses oieux, elle est mauvaise.

**Margot-**I'm sorry, Pierre, I really am. But if I'm the only one who can understand you, then you're going to be more harm than good here. I hope you understand.

* * *

(Conclusion)

"And that wraps it up for tonight," Chris said as he stood by his statue. "The teams are set and already Team Drama is down by one. Tomorrow brings more travelling and another challenge. Will Team Gaea dominate again? Will Devlin manage to win his team over, or is he doomed to go next? And which one of these 17 remaining explorers will go on to win the whole thing? We take one step closer next episode on Total…Drama…Exploration!"

**Teams:**

Team Glamtastic:

Andre-The Tough Guy

Ricky-The Follower

Paige-The Cowgirl

Mandy-The Doll

Lucas-The Peacekeeper

Lotte-The Passive Activist

Team Gaea:

Byron-The Survival Expert

Siobhan-The Gamer

Kane-The Spookster

Diego-The Homeschooled Dreamboat

Collette-The Artist

Pepper-The Unpopular Girl

Team Drama:

Gelatia-The Magician

Margot-The Brainiac

Stephanie-The GaGa

Devlin-The Auto Expert

Casper-The Messenger of the Dark Gods

Pierre-The French Guy

**Voted Out: **Pierre

_Author's Note: Yeah, I'll admit, Pierre was a pretty predictable first boot. I actually created him and realized that he would be pointless, so I got rid of him. Then I realized that I didn't want any of the other characters to go home first, so I brought him back solely for that purpose._


	3. Out With A Bang

_Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Still not sure what my long term plan is, but I decided that I've left Exploration for some time and I ought to at least get it rolling again. I may continue with it, I may flip back to Uber, I may do a little of both. But for now, here we are. If you need a refresher on the cast, remember there is a team last at the end of the previous chapter. That's what it's there for :)_

Chris stood at the Monument of Shame beneath the stone replica of himself.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Exploration!" he greeted. "Last time we met the cast of 18 and they were off on their first challenge. The initial leaders in the challenge became Team Glamtastic, consisting of people like the rough and tough Andre and the pacifist, Lucas. Over on the mid team, Team Gaea, Byron took charge, along with his friends Siobhan and Kane. And on the failing team, Team Drama, Devlin cost them valuable time by not being able to arrive as fast as the others. Despite his screw up, it was Pierre who went home, since no one could understand a word he said. Smart call on their part, if you ask me. Today, the expedition continues as we come to another challenge, and the chance that someone else may be eliminated. You're not going to want to miss it, so keep watching Total…Drama…Exploration!"

(**Theme Song Plays…**)

* * *

It was early morning and the three teams were all asleep. Team Gaea was sleeping comfortably in the luxury tent, while Team Glamtastic were sleeping much more uncomfortably as they crammed together into the much smaller tent. However, Team Drama was clearly having the worst night as they all huddled together for warmth. Casper was the first to awake. He shook himself off as he got up and paced outside. He sat down again and glanced up at the rising sun. Then his vision went to a sign that had not been there before. Curiously he walked over to read it.

"Attention Explorers," he read to himself, "the next challenge starts right now. As soon as you read this message, you may begin the race, continuing north, to your next stop. Remember, you don't want to end up in last place."

Casper left the sign and glanced back at his team.

"Hm," he sighed to himself before sitting down again.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Casper-**As usual my dreams were plagued with horror, but every morning I like to get up early and watch the sunrise. It soothes me. I saw that we had a new challenge, but I decided to not wake my team. They need rest from this world of hardships, and I won't be the one to take that from them.

* * *

(Later)

It wasn't until sometime later that Gelatia got up next.

"Ugh, I do not want to lose again," she grumbled. "Worst night sleep I've ever had. And I spent a night in magic box before."

"So," Casper said. "The race as begun, we may continue north as soon as we're all up."

"What!?" Gelatia exclaimed. "And you didn't tell us?! How long have you been up!?"

"I—" Casper began.

"Never mind, no time," Gelatia said as she spotted some movement from inside Team Gaea's tent. "Everybody, up, up, up!"

Gelatia began shaking the others. Margot started to stir, but Devlin was still out like a light. Byron had gotten up by now and was inspecting the sign.

"Come on," Gelatia groaned. "Abra-ka-Trombos!"

A loud blaring sound emitted through the entire area.

"Whoa, I'm up, I'm up!" Devlin exclaimed as he leapt off of the ground.

The others soon had also gotten up and were brushing the dirt off of them.

"Good, now let's move, we've got no time to waste!" Gelatia exclaimed. "Unless you want to spend another night sleeping in the dirt. And if you do, you can get off my team and go home now."

While most of them had barely rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, they were soon jogging into the woods.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**Clearly these people are all soft. Thankfully, they've got me on their team, so that should be enough to balance it out.

**Devlin-**Wow, talk about a rude awakening. But if it means we get to take the lead this time, then fine by me. Losing is not cool.

* * *

(Team Gaea)

Byron had read over the instructions and quickly returned to the tent. The other members of the team had all been awaken by Gelatia's siren by now.

"What was that?" Pepper exclaimed.

"Maybe a horde of killer bees," Kane remarked. "Or something equally ferocious."

"Oh, don't get me started on killer bees," Siobhan groaned. "No matter what game you're playing, the little freaks just won't die."

"Okay, people, we need to get a move on," Byron exclaimed. "Apparently the race has already started, and I just saw another team take off."

"Last place, as usual, why am I not surprised?" Pepper remarked dramatically.

"Actually, we can still take second and maybe even pull ahead into first if we try," Byron said.

"Ooh, a good old race, I like the sound of that," Siobhan exclaimed. "Some blue shells will come in handy right about now."

"Some what?" Byron asked. "Never mind, it's not important. Let's just get moving."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Pepper-**I don't care for Byron to be quite honest. He's really got his eye on being in first, and you know what being in first equates to in this game? Being popular!

**Byron-**We already won once. I say we go with our momentum and see if we can do it again.

* * *

(Team Glamastic)

The two teams were long gone by the time that anyone on Team Glamastic good up. The sun was well up when Paige stretched out of the tent.

"Oh mercy, worst night's sleep I've ever had," she groaned as she shook out her aches.

She noted that the other teams had already left.

"Odd," she remarked. "Wonder what the fuss was all about?"

She then noticed the sign and quickly read it over.

"Ooooh," she exclaimed grimly as she realized what had happened.

She quickly ran back to team and tried to shake them awake.

"Come on, now, rise and shine, we really need to get a move on!" she exclaimed as she shook everyone.

"Leave me alone," Andre grunted groggily.

"But we're already in dead last!" Paige shouted. "And we're losing time with every second we waste!"

"What!?" Andre shouted as he hopped up. "Okay, everyone, get your asses out of bed and let's get a move on. We are not losing this challenge, you hear me!?"

"Loud and clear, boss," Ricky remarked as he joined Andre.

"Oh, hang on," Mandy cried. "I haven't done my makeup. And my hair is just dreadful. We can't leave like this."

"What do you think this is!?" Andre shouted. "I said get a move on, woman. This isn't some prissy tea party."

"Oh, there's tea now?" Mandy asked. "I take mine with two sugar, please."

"Sugar is bad for your teeth," Lotte remarked. "Youth Dentists United would suggest that you don't put any of it in your tea."

"Oh, but…I like sugar," Mandy said innocently.

"Then you might be more in support of The Sunshine Coalition which hopes to include something bright in wonderful in everyone's day," Lotte said emotionlessly.

"It doesn't matter, though," Andre growled. "There's no sugar, because there's no tea, because we need to win this freaking race! Now, go, go, go!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Andre-**You just had to put me on a team with a bunch of braindead women, didn't you? Mandy's got a nice body, but the other two, are basically expectable boots as far I'm concerned.

**Mandy-**Great, I got my hopes up for tea and now they're ruined. Thanks a lot, Andre (sticks out tongue)

* * *

(Team Drama)

The team was rapidly hiking through the overgrown wilds. Gelatia held the lead, and Casper followed behind them. Stephanie tried to keep up, but her intricate dress frequently got caught. Margot and Devlin were walking at a slower pace bringing up the rear.

"So…how are you doing with all this?" Devlin asked her.

"Pretty good," Margot nodded. "It's just the first couple of days, I suppose, but I think I'm handling it pretty well."

"Well, if you ever do need a hand with anything," Devlin said, "just know that I'm the muscle to call on."

"Uh, you're performance yesterday might say otherwise," Margot remarked.

"Come on, you're still on that?" Devlin sighed. "I swear, that was a bad day for me. I'll prove myself soon enough.

"Ugh, I am so sorry," Margot said as she shook her head. "That was rude of me. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Hey, no big deal," Devlin said.

"It's just, I always do this," Margot groaned. "I always put people off by acting like I'm so above it all. Let me try this again…I'd be happy to have your help."

"Sweet!" Devlin exclaimed. "And, l mean, if there's any time that I might be stumped…you got my back?"

"Sure thing," Margot replied.

"Not that that'll ever happen, of course," Devlin replied.

"Of course," Margot said playfully.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Margot-**Coming out here, one of my main goals was to make friends. I'm normally so closed off to everyone that no one wants to hang around me. I could easily do the same with Devlin, but I'd much rather give him a chance. He actually seems like a pretty cool guy.

**Devlin-**Yeah, that little cutie is definitely into me. And I want her on my side, no doubt. After I didn't really make the best impression yesterday, I'm gonna need some friends…just in case things don't work out so well today either.

* * *

(Team Gaea)

The team were making quick progress with Byron at the lead. He navigated them through the wilderness skillfully. Kane followed behind him, and Collette and Diego came up behind them. Siobhan and Pepper were bringing up the rear.

"So," Kane remarked to Byron, "assuming worse comes to worst, who do you think we ought to cut out first?"

"I'd rather not worry about that right now," Byron said. "We're a strong team, and everyone deserves to be here, if we worry about who we're going to turn on, then we'll fall apart."

"Fair enough," Kane replied.

Diego meanwhile was trying to strike up conversation with Collette.

"So, what are you thinking about?" he asked.

"The sky," Collette replied cryptically.

"Uh…alright," Diego said.

"Blue…so predictable, so cliché," Collette continued. "What if…yes, what if I were to invert the colours with the wildlife…oh I should make a note of that."

"I see," Diego replied.

Bringing up the rear, Siobhan seemed to be deeply focused on her game, but she could still navigate through the path.

"So, I was thinking," Pepper said, "you seem like the kind of person who I could be friends with."

"Oh, thanks," Siobhan said. "I'd be happy to be your friend."

"Out of everyone on this team, you're clearly the biggest geek…other than me of course," Pepper said. "So, what are playing?"

"Well, right now I'm just giving a quick playthrough of Star Fox," Siobhan said,

"Oh," Pepper hissed as she narrowed her eyes. "You're one of those 'Mainstream Gamers,' only playing the popular games."

"Uh, it's a good game," Siobhan said.

"How can you say that when there are so many unpopular games that never see the light they deserve?" Pepper said. "Sorry, Siobhan, I thought you were uncool, but now I see you're just a big fake."

"Um, sorry?" Siobhan shrugged.

"You should be," Pepper said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Siobhan-**Pepper kinda remind me of Meg from Fire Emblem…the party member that you don't really want or need yet somehow end up with.

**Byron-**I honestly like all of my team, and I'd really like to make it to the merge with all of them. I know it's a longshot, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we never once have to go to elimination.

* * *

(Team Glamastic)

The team frantically was running through the woods, trying to catch up with the others. Mandy's dress got caught and brambles, and Lucas tripped over a root, slowing the down further.

"Pick it up people," Andre growled. "You want to make us look bad? Cause nobody makes me look bad without paying the price."

"Hang on, hang on," Paige said as she climbed up a tree and gave a quick scan of their surroundings. "I think we're going to the wrong way."

"Interesting," Andre said, "…is what I would be saying if I actually gave a damn about what you thought."

"Hold up," Paige exclaimed as the group kept moving. "The sign said to head north. We're not heading north."

"Where do you get off trying to tell me I'm wrong?" Andre spat. "I know way more than you ever will, so don't try to argue."

"Do you want to win or not?" Paige argued. "We won't win if we keep going the wrong way like we are."

"Ugh…Ricky, back me up," Andre ordered.

"Yes sir, Mr. Boss," Ricky said. "Shut up, girl, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Well…uh, Lotte, back _me_ up," Paige said.

"Whatever," Lotte shrugged.

"Hey, guys, can't we just compromise?" Lucas suggested.

"No!" Paige and Andre shouted at the same time.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Paige-**Ugh, Andre, I can't stand the fella. I hope I'm not the only one, because when he lose he needs to get out.

**Andre-**It's one thing to be a useless woman already, but when you start trying to tell me what to do…no way. Paige had better learn to shut her mouth or else she will regret it.

**Ricky-**Ehehehe, this is so great. Everybody's fighting, but nobody's gonna blame me. This whole team is gonna fall right apart and I'll slid by to the end.

* * *

(Team Drama)

"So…" Stephanie said as she struggled to keep up with Casper. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"What would you like to know?" Casper asked.

"Well, like….you worship demons, right?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't worship anything," Casper declared.

"It's pretty cool if you ask me," Stephanie said. "I'm a fan of all things different and out there."

"No," Casper said. "You are a fan of things that seem different yet remain in your grasp. If you truly experience something out there your mind would be strained to even comprehend what you were seeing."

"Ooh, neato," Stephanie said. "I hope I get to check that out some day."

"Trust me, you don't," Casper said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**I don't like all this talking going on. If people start making alliances that don't include me, then…poof! Now you see them, now you don't.

**Stephanie-**I like to immerse myself in diversity, the world is much more fascinating than boring old Canada. Like for example, ever since going to America, I always asked for, get this, iced tea…I know right, so exotic.

* * *

(Team Gaea)

"Hey, guys, I think I see something up there," Byron exclaimed. "It might be the next stop."

"Yay!" Siobhan cheered. "We've been overdue for a checkpoint by now."

The team made their way through the last bit of bushes and found Chris waiting for them at a flag. Behind him were various boxes and barrels, each coloured pink, green, or gold.

"Team Gaea, congratulations!" Chris exclaimed. "You are the first team to arrive."

"Yes!" Kane cheered.

"Now, let me explain how this challenge will work," Chris said. "We will be leaving behind the woods today and instead we'll be moving onto…the caves! That's right, we've got some mining today. And what miner would leave home without his explosives?"

Chris gestured to the barrels and crates behind him.

"Uh, those aren't real explosives are they?" Diego asked.

"No, are lawyers ruled that out," Chris said bitterly. "But the challenge is the same idea. You've got to transport these 'explosives' to the caves, which are just down in that direction. Like real explosives, though, you're going to want to handle them with care, because if they're shaken up too much, they will burst. You need at least one remaining package by the time you arrive if you want to be eligible for the win. Okay, all good…you may begin."

The team walked over to the boxes behind Chris. There were four that matched their team's green colour, two crates and two barrels.

"So, when he said that they shouldn't be shaken up, what do you think he meant by that?" Kane asked. "Like, if I were to drop this pebble on it, do you think it would explode?"

Kane picked up a stone and prepared to drop it on a crate.

"Don't!" Byron exclaimed.

"I'm just kidding," Kane laughed. "It was worth it to see your face."

Kane threw the stone behind his back. However, it bounced off one of their barrels. Everyone froze in place and waited…then the barrel burst into a shower of green confetti.

"Uh, heh…that was an accident, I swear," Kane said.

"Okay, well now we have three," Byron said. "We can still make it to the end though, we just need to be caref—Siobhan!"

"Look at me!" Siobhan exclaimed as she hopped onto one of the barrels and began rolling around on it. "I'm on like Dixie Kong!"

"Siobhan, did you not hear what I just said?" Byron exclaimed.

"I am being careful," Siobhan said. "And we have to move them somehow. I'm just doing it the fun way."

"So, I suppose the rest of us should carry the other two," Diego said.

"Right," Byron agreed. "You and Collette can grab that one, I'll carry this one with Kane."

"Um, hello, I'm still here!" Pepper exclaimed. "You're just going to ignore me, like you no doubt ignore the other geeks at your school!"

"Well, do you want to work?" Byron asked.

"After the way I've been treated? I don't think so," Pepper huffed.

"Very well then," Byron said.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Byron-**I think some of these people aren't exactly taking this game as seriously as they should. But Siobhan, Kane, and I have already started to work together as a group, I'm not going to cast them aside now.

**Pepper-**Ugh, I hope you people are as disgusted as I am. Clearly I'm the ugly duckling of this team.

* * *

(Team Glamtastic)

"So, um…what do you like?" Mandy asked Lotte as they team stumbled through the wildlife.

"That depends," Lotte asked. "It actually goes back to—"

"Okay, I didn't ask for your life story, I just wanted to be polite," Mandy said. "Ooh, speaking of which, would you like to hear my life story!?"

"Not particularily," Lotte replied dryly.

"That's not 'no,'" Mandy said. "So, it all started when I was born and the doctor said I was one of the cutest babies he'd ever delivered. I specifically remember that moment because…"

Lotte groaned as she tried to phase out Mandy's lengthy tale.

"Look, I think we're almost there," Ricky exclaimed as he pointed ahead.

"Ha, shows what you know," Andre spat at Paige. "Maybe this'll teach you to keep your dumb mouth shut."

The team came through the shrubs and arrived…back at the camp.

"Well, I'm certainly speechless," Paige remarked.

"Urgh, this is all your fault!" Andre shouted at Paige. "You were distracting me with all your talk, and you made get lost."

"Let's not play the blame game," Lucas said.

"Can we play the win game yet?" Paige asked.

"Well, we're really gonna have to hurry," Ricky said. "Unless the other teams are having just as much trouble."

"Probably," Andre remarked. "The other team has the panda as their leader, and if their driving is anything to go by, the Chinese are no good with directions."

"Racism will not be tolerated," Lotte remarked unenthusiastically. "Unless it's the kind of racism that promotes a group identity…I dunno, I never got the difference, but apparently there's good racism and bad racism."

"And there's bad losing and bad losing!" Andre exclaimed. "So keep moving!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Mandy-**Everyone on my team is such a freak who wouldn't know the first thing about fashion…but this isn't school where you can trash talk everyone and just get new friends. There are no new friends, so (sighs) I'll have to try my hardest to be nice. I think it's working.

**Andre-**This team is such a disaster. I can't wait till elimination when I can start chopping out some of the deadweight.

**Lotte-**People are confusing. Too bad I stopped caring so very long ago.

* * *

(Team Drama)

"Ooh, I think we're there," Stephanie exclaimed. "I think I can see it."

The team stepped out to the stop where Chris was waiting for them. All of the green boxes and barrels were gone by now, but some green confetti had still been left behind.

"Team Drama, welcome," Chris said. "You are the second team to arrive. So, you've got these explosives back here that'll burst if you're too rough with them. You need to get at least one to the caves which would be thataway. Make sense?"

"Yeah, we so got this, Chris," Devlin exclaimed.

The team walked over to their four gold crates and barrels.

"Wow, these are heavier than they look," Margot remarked as she struggled to lift one.

"Well, that's no good," Stephanie said. "If we're going to have trouble carrying them, we're just going to fall further behind."

"Ooh, I got it," Devlin said as he began dumping out his backpack.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Gelatia asked. "This is no time for silly business."

"Oh don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Devlin said. "I've got a couple wheels, and with just a little bit more material, we can make some trolleys to carry everything."

"And what if it fails?" Gelatia said. "Then we'll have wasted all that time for nothing and we'll be giving the other teams a chance to catch up."

"I say we give it a shot," Margot said. "Let's give Devlin a chance to prove himself."

Gelatia narrowed her eyes, but then lost the glare and said, "Fine, fine, whatever you want."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**Who does that little prick she is talking back to me like that!? Is she seriously choosing Devlin over me? Well, my she'd like to 'give a shot' at being wrapped in a straitjacket and thrown into the ocean! Huh, let's see her get out of that! But, if only it were that easy.

**Devlin-**Yes, time to show my team why they need me!

**Margot-**I'm not one hundred percent confident in Devlin's abilities, but he seems pretty eager to give it a try. And if he fails…well…at least we'll know who to vote for. Sorry Devlin.

* * *

(Team Gaea)

The team was carrying their cargo through the forest. Although, the trees were starting to thin out now. The ground was getting more dry and gravelly.

"Guys, can we take a quick break?" Diego asked. "My arms are getting a bit tired."

"I agree," Collette said.

"Alright, I think we can afford a few minutes," Byron said as he and Kane set down their stone.

"Did any of you ask if I wanted to take a break?" Pepper scoffed. "Of course not, I don't even matter to you."

"Um, you're not even carrying anything," Byron pointed out.

"Oh, trying to turn this against me now, are you?" Pepper hissed. "That is so like you people."

Collette meanwhile had pulled out a sketchpad and was deep into her artwork. Diego was about to ask her what she was drawing, but saw that she deeply engulfed in her work and decided not to disturb her. He instead decided to just pace by himself.

"Hey!" Siobhan exclaimed as she skipped over to him. "You haven't said much; not a talkative one are you?"

"Not really, I guess," Diego shrugged. "Not that I don't like people of course I'm just a little…socially awkward."

"Hey, don't fret about it," Siobhan said. "Some of history's greatest heroes have never uttered a word. Chell, Crash Bandicoot, and of course the Hero of Time himself, Link."

"Uh, yeah, that," Diego said. "Don't expect me to start dueling monsters anytime soon though."

"Ha, you're funny," Siobhan exclaimed. "And don't worry, I like you enough already, you don't need to save the universe to get on my good side."

Suddenly, a branch from a tree snapped off. It landed right on a crate that Byron had placed beneath it. The crate exploded into confetti.

"Oh snap," Siobhan exclaimed.

"Well, that's just great," Byron remarked. "But, we've still got two. We probably should keep moving now."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Diego-**Siobhan seems like a really sweet girl. I certainly wouldn't mind spending more time with her.

**Siobhan-**It's funny cause I bet each of these guys could be a hero in their own game. Diego is the silent type who journeys the world, Byron is the heroic one who saves the princess, and Kane is the creepy guy who wakes up with no memory in a castle full of monsters.

* * *

(Team Glamtastic)

The team plowed back through the woods, this time in the right direction. Andre kept the lead, stomping on any vegetation that got in his way. Paige matched his pace and kept up with him. The others struggled to keep up. Eventually, they came to the stop where Chris was waiting. As well, they could see Team Drama still working on putting together Devlin's trolley.

"Yes, we made it!" Andre exclaimed.

"Team Drama," Chris said, "you are the last team to arrive, but you can still catch up. You need to take this packages to the caves over in that direction. If you're too careless though, the cargo may burst on you, and you need at least one to win. Okay, get going."

"Oh no, they're going to get ahead of us!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Gelatia said. "Abra-ka-Quakus!"

Suddenly the ground began to shake, most noticeably around Team Glamtastic's side. The barrels rolled over and slammed into each other, both bursting into confetti.

"Quick, we need to get them out of here," Paige said as she lifted up one of the crates.

Lucas came to help her, and Andre and Ricky grabbed the other crate.

"And as for you," Gelatia said to Devlin as he quickly tried to put branches together in a square shape. "Work faster!"

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Ricky-**Well, that was a little cheap, if you ask me. Gelatia really ought to be docked points for that.

**Margot-**Uh…maybe she had vibrating plates installed in the ground…before arriving…or knowing where the challenge would take place…wow this is hard trying to come up with a logical explanation.

* * *

(Team Drama)

Devlin had put the final touches on his cart. It was made up of sticks all tied together in a crisscross pattern. On the button he had screwed on four wheels.

"Okay, pile them on, it's ready," Devlin said.

"I don't know, it looks a little flimsy," Stephanie noted as she gave it a light kick and watched the sticks wobble.

"I promise it'll hold," Devlin said. "I used double knots and everything."

"Well, we might as well use it now," Margot said. "We really need to catch up with the others."

"I still prefer to use my method," Gelatia said as she pointed her wand at a barrel. "Abra-ka-Levikinis!"

The barrel floated up into the air and seemed to orbit around Gelatia.

"If that cart falls apart, at least we'll have one that's still safe," Gelatia said.

"Alright, but you'll be surprised," Devlin said as he loaded the rest onto the cart. "Now, let's get a move on."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Casper-**Gelatia seems to be well versed in dark magic. Perhaps there is more to her than it seems.

**Gelatia-**I can't wait for Devlin to fail! Then everyone will realize just how much more I have to offer than any of those sorry saps on this team.

* * *

(Team Gaea)

The team still had two packages left, one crate and one barrel. Diego, Kane, Collette, and Byron were all lifting the crate together now and moving at a quicker speed. Siobhan was still rolling on the barrel, while playing her game system at the same time.

"Eep, bogey on our tail!" Siobhan exclaimed.

"Huh?" Byron remarked.

"She's just playing a game," Pepper said.

"No…well, yes," Siobhan said. "But seriously, someone is gaining on us."

The others turned around to see the figures of Team Glamastic coming up from the woods.

"Well, we'd better pick up the pace then," Byron said as they continued to move with the crate in their hands.

The trees had nearly all disappeared by now. They had entered a dry part of the island. There were several rocks around them, though.

"Look, I think we're coming up to a cliff," Diego said.

"Well, Chris said the mine was in this direction, so it's got to be over there somewhere," Kane said.

The team approached the edge. They saw that there was a path along the ledge that led down to a rocky terrain.

"Look, I think I see a flag," Kane noted. "That must be where we have to go."

Suddenly, Siobhan accidentally rolled over a sharp rock sticking out of the ground.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she tumbled off the barrel.

The barrel rolled out from under her feet and headed for the edge.

"No!" Byron exclaimed.

But it was too late. The barrel rolled over the edge and shattered as it hit the ground.

"Uh, oops," Siobhan said.

"Okay, we've got one," Byron said. "Let's just be very careful with this one."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Siobhan-**It's always the same story. It's easy to get careless when you've got plenty of 1-ups, but when you're down to your last life, things get serious.

* * *

(Team Glamtastic)

The team made their way through the woods with the crates in their arms.

"I can't see where we're going," Ricky remarked from his point of view behind the crate.

"Okay, I can help, go left!" Mandy exclaimed.

Ricky stepped to the left and bumped into a tree.

"Ow!" Ricky exclaimed. "Why did you tell me to do that?"

"I dunno," Mandy shrugged. "I didn't say I'd give good directions."

"Stop talking!" Andre ordered. "We don't need any help from you."

"Hey, do you people hear something approaching?" Paige asked.

"Not with all this mindless chatter going on," Andre scoffed.

"Hey guys!" Devlin exclaimed.

Everyone turned to see Team Drama zooming past them with Devlin's cart.

"Hey, no fair!" Mandy pouted.

"See you at the finish line," Stephanie laughed.

"Grr, we can't let them get ahead!" Andre exclaimed.

"I agree," Paige said. "After them!"

Everyone carrying a crate sped up with new determination as they chased after the rival team.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Ricky-**First earthquakes, now trolleys? Why don't we get any of these advantages? Can we have a genie or a scientist or something on our team to balance it out?

* * *

(Team Drama)

"Whee!" Stephanie exclaimed as she ran with the cart in her hands. "Okay, I'll admit, you surprised me. This is perfect."

"You know it," Devlin replied.

Gelatia grumbled to herself as she brought up the rear with the barrel still circling her.

"Careful, the ground is getting a little rockier here," Margot noted.

The team slowed down slightly as they left behind the woods and entered the new terrain.

"Look, there's the other team," Stephanie exclaimed. "If we pass them we might actually win the luxury tent today."

"Let's do it," Devlin said as he charged forward.

Team Gaea saw them and immediately reacted in surprise.

"Quick, out of the way!" Byron exclaimed as he guided everyone to the side.

Team Drama soared right past them and continued along the downward path.

"You let them get ahead!" Kane exclaimed.

"We couldn't take that risk," Byron said. "We've only got one crate left, if we collided and lost it, it would be all over for us."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Stephanie-**I know I was a little hard on Devlin the other day. But that was when we were losing, now that we're winning, I love that guy.

**Gelatia-**So Devlin made some silly little cart, whoop-de-freaking-do, I'd still like to see him pull a rabbit out of his ear.

* * *

The two teams in the lead were racing now. Team Drama had the clear advantage with their cart, but Team Gaea weren't going out without a fight either.

"Dev, Dev, careful!" Margot exclaimed as the cart rocked from side to side.

The cargo looked like it could shatter at any second.

"Pew, pew, get'em!" Siobhan exclaimed as she sprinted ahead of her team and at Team Drama.

"Back off," Gelatia said. "Abra-ka-Expellis!"

Siobhan was suddenly forced backwards. However, Gelatia accidentally ended up launching her barrel as well, which ended up smashing against the rock side of the cliff.

"Smart going," Devlin remarked.

"Hey, it's called acceptable sacrifices," Gelatia retorted.

Team Drama pulled ahead and kept the lead. Soon they had arrived at the bottom of the cliff. They looked around at the rock-filled area.

"There's the flag," Margot said. "And there's Chris."

The rolled the cart up to where the host was waiting.

"Good job, Team Drama," Chris said. "You did a complete turnaround and managed to win first place. You are all safe tonight and will be sleeping in the luxury tent."

"Woo!" Stephanie cheered.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Stephanie-**Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

**Devlin-**Heh, I think I've done my job. I'm probably MVP right now.

**Casper-**Win, lose, it makes no difference. Will winning first place increase the happiness? Perhaps, but only temporarily, and then it is gone and we will right back to where we started.

* * *

(Team Glamtastic)

The team arrived at the cliff to see the other two teams still had a strong lead.

"Dammit!" Andre shouted. "They're ahead of us, we'll never catch up."

"Come on, come on, we can't give up now!" Paige exclaimed as she continued to carry her box along the ledge.

Andre and Ricky followed. Mandy looked over the edge and saw Team Gaea closing in on Chris. They only had one crate left.

"Hmm," she said to herself before kicking a pebble over the edge. "Oh, oopsie."

"Team Gaea," Chris exclaimed as they arrived in front of him, "you are…"

Suddenly, the pebble fell down and landed right on the crate. Instantly the crate burst into confetti.

"…all out of crates," Chris said. "And if Team Glamtastic arrives with just one, that means that they'll be safe tonight."

"Uh-oh," Diego remarked as he looked back.

Team Glamtastic came charging forward with their crates in hand.

"Team Glamtastic," Chris said. "You win second place. You will be sleeping in the plain tent again, but you are all safe."

"Woohoo!" Paige cheered.

"Good teamwork everyone," Lucas said.

"Whatever," Lotte remarked.

"And Team Gaea," Chris said. "Despite your lead in this game, you've ended up in last place. I'll be seeing you at the nearest Monument of Shame where one of you will be eliminated."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Mandy-**Yay, did you see that!? I just saved my team. They'd better keep me all the way to the finals for that.

**Paige-**So, I have to put up with Andre for another day, but I'm happy that we won. Shows that even if we were falling behind, we can still pull through this.

**Byron-**Dang, so much for my hopes.

* * *

(Later)

The teams were setting up their tents as evening cast over the island.

"Ah, now this is the good life," Stephanie said as she got comfy in blankets provided for them.

"There is no 'good life,'" Casper said. "All life contains both triumphant and suffering."

"You're a real downer, aren't you?" Stephanie said. "But you're weird and unusual, so I can dig it."

Margot and Devlin were just setting up the final part of their sleeping arrangements together.

"Well, good job at today's challenge," Margot said. "You really did pull through for us."

"Hey, I told you, I've got what it takes," Devlin said. "And I'm gonna keep it up for this team."

"I hope you do," Margot said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Team Glamtastic was setting up their much smaller tent.

"Well, another night on the hard ground," Ricky remarked.

"It'll just make us stronger," Paige said.

"Nothing could make you strong enough to belong out here," Andre said.

"Um, excuse me, but who was the girl keeping up with you all day?" Paige retorted. "That's right, me."

"Guys, guys, let's just focus on the good things, we're all here for another day," Lucas said.

"I think it's up for debate whether that's good or not," Lotte said. "Don't ask me to debate, though, I'm perfectly neutral on the subject."

Over at the Team Gaea side, Byron had set up the tarp and had gone to meet with Kane and Siobhan.

"Well, I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this so soon," Byron said. "But I think we did the best we could. We're going to have to vote someone out. Any ideas?"

"I suggest Pepper," Siobhan said. "All she does is whine. She's more annoying than the Sun from Super Mario Bros. 3. And let me tell you, that's no easy feat."

"I'd be fine with that," Kane said. "She's clearly not pulling her weight."

"Okay, so we're in agreement?" Byron said. "Pepper is going tonight."

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Gelatia-**Ugh, I hate all this sappiness on my team. Maybe if they actually shared my seriousness for winning they wouldn't have to rely on me to stay in this game.

**Andre-**Paige has dedication, I'll give her that. But it's going to take more than persistence to survive out here, she'll probably burn out by the end of the week.

**Byron-**I really didn't want to have to vote out anyone this early, but Pepper is clearly the weakest link. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

**Kane-**Heh, well, I know I'm safe tonight. Now, time to create a little havoc.

* * *

Kane spotted Diego sitting on a rock by himself and approached him.

"Hey," he said. "Sucks that we lost, eh."

"Yeah," Diego sighed. "Do you know who people are voting for by any chance?"

"Well, yeah, I was just talking with my majority alliance," Kane said. "And the agreement is…you. So, sorry, it was nice knowing you, but you'll be leaving tonight."

"Me!?" Diego exclaimed. "What did I do wrong!?"

"I don't know, people just don't like you," Kane replied. "Well, see ya."

"Oh no, oh no," Diego exclaimed nervously.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Kane-**Heh, too easy. Now he'll be scrambling for no reason, too good.

**Diego-**Oh, this was exactly what I was afraid of. I tried my best to be nice, but I'm not good with people. Oh, I've gotta do something quick, I don't want to go home now.

* * *

Diego had found Collette and quickly rushed over to her.

"We need to talk!" he exclaimed nervously. "I was just talking to Kane and he said that he had a majority alliance and he's going to vote me out!"

"Hm, that is a problem," Collette remarked without looking up as she painted a rock.

"We need to form a counterattack, that's the only thing I can think of," Diego said.

He then spotted Pepper walking by.

"Oh, Pepper, we need your help!" Diego exclaimed. "Kane and the others have a majority alliance. We need to work together and vote him out."

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that," Pepper said.

"Falling for what?" Diego asked in confusion.

"What do you take me for?" Pepper spat. "I know your type. Good-looking guy who acts nice but is really nothing but a pure schemer jerk. It's the same story every single time."

"What? No, I swear, I'm serious," Diego said.

"I don't believe you!" Pepper said. "An attractive boy like you is probably the big man on campus at school. You might have everyone else fooled but not me!"

Pepper turned to leave them behind.

"Pepper, think!" Diego called. "They've got a majority alliance, that makes them the popular kids!"

* * *

**Confessional**

**Diego-**Oh, I just hope that worked.

**Collette-**I like this rock. I think I shall call it…The Prize of Defeat.

* * *

(Monument of Shame)

Team Gaea walked up to the large statue of Chris that was positioned along the side of the cliff.

"Team Gaea, welcome to your first elimination," Chris said. "How does it feel to have won one challenge and now lost one?"

"Pretty low, Chris," Byron sighed. "But we're not going to give up just because of that. Everyone has ups and downs, and I'm hoping that we're going to just come back stronger from this."

"Kane, do you think there's anyone to blame for today's failure?" Chris asked.

"Not really?" Kane shrugged. "We were really close and it just came down to bad luck."

"Says the guy who broke barrel before we had even left," Pepper remarked. "But who am I kidding? This is just a big popularity contest, it doesn't matter who does what, just who's popular and who's not."

"Okay, will you shut up about that," Byron snapped. "I've tried to include you in our team, yet every time I do you just shut me out."

"Lies!" Pepper hissed. "I've been a loser all my life so I know how it goes by now. You have no problem kicking me when I'm down, but when someone's looking, it's all, 'Oh, what are you talking about, we're just trying to be friends.'"

"You know what? I don't even know why I'm bothering," Byron said. "I thought we could have a nice cohesive team, but Pepper seems to think otherwise."

"Well, let's get to the marshmallows and see if that solves anything," Chris said. "Remember, if you do not receive a marshmallow, then you must take the Helicopter of Losers and never return…unless that's a lie…now, let's get to it. First marshmallow is for…"

"Byron!"

Byron smiled as he accepted his marshmallow.

"And we've got more," Chris said, "for…"

"Collette!"

"Siobhan."

"And…"

…

…

…

"Diego!"

"Huh?" Diego remarked in surprise as Pepper and Kane were the last two remaining.

"Pepper, Kane, you two received the most votes, but only one of you will be leaving today," Chris said.

"I received votes?" Kane said in surprise. "Uh-oh."

"The final marshmallow," Chris said, "goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Kane."

Kane sighed in relief as he accepted his marshmallow.

"Pepper, you have been eliminated," Chris said.

"Well, no duh!" Pepper snapped. "I always knew that I'd be the first one off my team. I'm just not popular enough!"

"Just go, please," Siobhan sighed as she rolled her eyes.

The helicopter arrived and Chris guided Pepper to it. She climbed the ladder and was taken away.

"So, Team Gaea, you have lost your first member," Chris said. "If Byron is right, than this should only make you stronger. But we shall see at the next challenge. Until then, you may return to your…tarp for the night."

The team got up and left.

* * *

**Confessional:**

**Diego-**My heart was racing a mile a minute…yet I wasn't even in the bottom two. What's going on?

**Kane-**Well, that was close. Next time I really need to think something through before going through with it.

* * *

**Votes: **

**Diego-**Kane, sorry, but you really shouldn't have told me that I was going. I have to vote for you if I want to stay in the game now.

**Byron-**Pepper, you are the weakest link. Sorry it has to be this way.

**Siobhan-**So, you don't like Star Fox, eh? Well, guess what, I don't like you, Pepper.

**Collette-**I vote for Kane. Nothing personal, just the way it is.

**Kane-**I vote for Pepper, she's going to be so pissed.

**Pepper-**I vote for Diego! How dare he try to manipulate me with his good looks!? How do I look like? Bridgette!? I don't think so.

* * *

(Conclusion)

Chris stood at the foot of his statue.

"And with that our resident loser…well, lost," Chris said. "Pepper is gone and Team Gaea are down to five. What more surprises does the island have in store for the explorers? Will Paige and Andre's conflict come to a head? Will Diego manage to improve his social game? And who will be the next person voted out? You're going to want to keep watching Total…Drama…Exploration!"

**Teams:**

Team Glamtastic:

Andre-The Tough Guy

Ricky-The Follower

Paige-The Cowgirl

Mandy-The Doll

Lucas-The Peacekeeper

Lotte-The Passive Activist

Team Gaea:

Byron-The Survival Expert

Siobhan-The Gamer

Kane-The Spookster

Diego-The Homeschooled Dreamboat

Collette-The Artist

_Pepper-The Unpopular Girl_

Team Drama:

Gelatia-The Magician

Margot-The Brainiac

Stephanie-The GaGa

Devlin-The Auto Expert

Casper-The Messenger of the Dark Gods

_Pierre-The French Guy_

**Voted Out:** Pierre, Pepper

_Author's Note: And Pepper's gone. She had some fun moments, but I knew that after a season of Missy, someone like her would have to go home early. Fun Fact: Pepper originally had Karly from Total Drama Strandarama's name and design, and her title would have been The Hipster. Her gimmick would have been that she always tried to vote against the majority and this got her voted out. But I decided that I liked Pepper better, so that's what we ended up with._


End file.
